Intra oral dental irradiation device for material curing and dental imaging

Abstract

An intra-oral dental irradiation device for use in dental procedures for whitening teeth, imaging teeth, and making impressions of tooth structures of a patient. The device features one or a plurality of LED devices mounted to an arched shaped structure which project light upon or through teeth. In the whitening mode the light of the proper spectrum to activate enamel whitening material is projected. In the imaging mode light projected by the LED devices is received by a charged coupled device which communicates the image of the light passing through the teeth from the LED devices, to a computer. In making dental impressions, the device projects light in a spectrum that provides the catalyst to material that hardens when exposed to that spectrum thereby hardening dental impression material when inserted over the teeth of a patient.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 358,636 filed on Feb. 21, 2002. This invention relates to a device for providing irradiated energy at low voltage inside the mouth. More particularly this invention relates to a device that provides light energy inside the mouth at determined wavelengths which will provide for the imaging and display in real time of the internal structure of teeth by using visible light projected through the teeth to sensors sensitive to the particular wavelength of light so projected. Additionally, the device when emitting light energy at specific wavelengths can be used for the activation and resulting curing of liquid and semi-liquid materials, used in commercial dental applications. Such materials are widely used in dentistry for forming dental impressions, teeth whitening, filling cavities, and similar tasks. Materials used for such purposes are cured or hardened to a desired level when s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]The device in use for real time imagery illumination at a designated wavelength is projected through one or a plurality of determined teeth in the mouth from one side of the designated teeth. On the opposite side, registered with the tooth or teeth to be imaged, is the CCD which receives the energy projected therethrough. The output of one or more of the CCDs receiving the light transmission from the other side of the teeth is then transmitted to a computing device capable of interpreting the image from one or a plurality of the CCD's. Then a visual image can be displayed on a computer monitor in real time as long as the irradiation sources are turned on, or the images may be digitized and stored for later viewing. Using light transmissions in the visual light spectrum, the health hazard to the patient is virtually eliminated. Further, the dentist or medical provider may choose the exact tooth or teeth desired for imaging and the CCD and light transmission device registered therewith will yield the image of the tooth desired in real time.

[0031]A further object of this invention is to provide a device that will image one or a plurality of teeth or cure dental material with great specificity as to location in the mouth.

Problems solved by technology

The x-ray projection device generally is large and cumbersome and projected externally to the head of a patient through a determined position on the patient's jaw.

This technique, while faster, also causes the patient and the technician to be exposed to X-ray radiation at other unwanted parts of the body, which may be dangerous.

Osterwalder, while providing a great leap forward in utility and convenience in the curing of such dental material, is intended for curing in small specific areas and not intended to provide imaging.

Jacob too lacks registration of the projected photons to an imaging device and would not be suitable for such applications as imaging.

However, Hare teaches the use of either fiber optics or LEDs which are not powerful enough nor very efficiently directed towards the desired areas.

Hare thus suffers from the same drawback of ineffective application of the curing light source and of insufficient power density for curing / whitening of thick layers of compounds.

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